Running in Circles - Lexie Grey x OC

I Belong With You

Saturday Morning

The SUV rolled out of the townhouse driveway just after ten.

For once, neither of them was wearing scrubs.

No pagers clipped to waistbands.

No consults waiting.

No surgeries scheduled.

No reason to be anywhere except exactly where they were going.

Lexie settled into the passenger seat with her tumbler cup between her hands as Eric backed onto the street.

Jeans.

Grey T-shirt.

A pair of sunglasses hooked into the collar.

No white coat.

No tie.

No Dr. Keaton.

Just Eric.

The version she liked best.

The radio played quietly.

The city slid past outside.

And for nearly fifteen minutes, Lexie didn't say a word.

Eric let her have the silence.

Then—

"You're thinking very loudly."

Lexie looked over.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means you've been staring out the window like someone just informed you the world is ending."

"I have not."

"Darling, I've watched you diagnose patients from across a hallway."

A beat.

"You absolutely have a face."

Lexie rolled her eyes.

"You have a face."

"I do."

"It's annoying."

"And yet you're madly in love with this face."

Lexie stared at him as Eric slowed to a stop at a red light.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

He glanced over at her.

Lexie scoffed.

Still staring.

Without looking away for long, Eric reached across the center console, took her hand, and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

"I love you."

Then the light turned green.

He drove on.

Lexie brushed her fingers through his hair.

"I love you."

A smile tugged at the corner of Eric's mouth.

Lexie smiled too.

Gone almost as quickly as it came.

Eric noticed anyway.

Seattle gradually fell away behind them.

The skyline shrank in the rearview mirror.

Apartment buildings became houses.

Houses became neighborhoods.

The noise of the city gave way to quieter streets lined with trees.

Lexie watched it all pass.